Most of the main candidates are at pains to claim they are independents, not contesting on any panel. "Panel" became a dirty word on account of behind the scenes maneuvering by the two major electoral players, BPP chairman Dinshaw Mehta, a veteran of many elections and Randeria, who entered the arena of Parsi politics assisting his onetime senior colleague at Godrej, Maneck Engineer. Engineer had encouraged the feisty Randeria to start out on his own as a fabricating vendor to Godrej. Engineer had unsuccessfully contested the BPP trusteeship seat for the first time against Mehta. The genesis of the feud between Mehta and Randeria dates to that time.
When Parsiana had put up a Facebook post claiming a consensus panel had been formed and Randeria or one of his nominees would be part of the group, an indignant Randeria phoned the journal questioning the veracity of the report, fuming that he was not part of any panel and that his name should not be published in the magazine, presumably without his consent. He demanded to know the source of the information and took offense when told no journalist would ever reveal his sources. His persistence and contentiousness will find its match among several of the other contestants
With Bhathena, Dadrawala, Davar, Randeria and some retired armed force personnel in the race, the going will be tough for sitting BPP trustee Yazdi Desai, Mehta’s son and finance executive Viraf and chartered accountant Xerxes Dastur. Normally sitting trustees stand a respectable chance of being reelected but this time there is considerable revulsion towards the present board that has sorely tarnished the image of the once apex Bombay trust. That unsavory track record may also explain why some of the other sitting trustees have so far refrained from re-contesting.
It may also be the reason why no candidate wants to be associated with any of the existing trustees. Dinshaw probably has the best election machinery which could be at the disposal of Davar and Viraf. But both are at pains to distance themselves from Dinshaw’s record over the past seven years.
Between Dinshaw and Desai they have mired the BPP’s name in controversy after controversy: The Tenth World Zoroastrian Congress was cancelled, then sought to be postponed and finally held on schedule after the intervention of billionaire philanthropist Dr Cyrus Poonawalla and industrialist Nadir Godrej; allocation of flats has been stayed by the Charity Commissioner as a result of which around 130 flats are lying vacant; around three crore rupees (US $4,52,188) in cash has been spent in litigation to bar two priests from performing funerary services at Doongerwadi and two agiaries managed by the trust; criminal cases have been filed against the chairman; accusations levied by the chairman that he lent money to Desai who allegedly did not return the amount have been bandied about in the Parsi Press with Desai vehemently refuting the charges; the trust is without senior executives who have either left in disgust or been hounded out; over 20 lakh rupees (US $ 30,145) in cash have been found in the office cupboards; the BPP union issued a strike notice as their contract had not been renegotiated for over six months; the list goes on.
Desai will face an uphill battle despite the goodwill that may accrue on account of his wife Anahita’s social work. Despite the assistance Dinshaw renders to many, Viraf’s electoral chances may be dimmed on account of being the chairman’s son. Another possible entrant in the fray is community activist and scholar Dr Homi Dhalla. If he decides to take the plunge, he will be a formidable candidate. (The last date for filing nominations is September 18. The Parsiana issue will go to press by the 14th. For up-to-date electoral coverage visit our website, parsiana.com, Facebook Page and Twitter@ParsianaMedia).
Four ex-servicemen entered the contest in the second week of September, namely Maj Gen Soli Pavri, Maj Gen Khurshed Balsara, Cmde Medioma Bhada and Sqn Ldr Minoo Wadia. Though they are late-comers with at least three of them not familiar faces to the Parsi electorate, they may still make an impact. Generally though people vote for candidates they know, especially people who have assisted them in some manner.
Others in the fray include (in alphabetic order): businessman Percy Doctor, caterer Tehmtan Dumasia, consultant Ervad Marazban Maney, baker Danesh Nejadkay, pharmaceutical executive Daara Patel and management professor Dr Zuleika Homavazir Sattha (the only known woman contestant to date).
Parsiana will be emailing a questionnaire to the candidates eliciting their views on community issues. The replies received will be published in our October 7 issue.
This time the tempo of the campaigns is not expected to have all the razzmatazz of the past three elections. The community was generally repulsed by all the food packets handed out, the public dinners and entertainment programs. People then criticized the introduction of adult franchise and laid the ills of the past seven years on universal suffrage.
But one must keep in mind that was the first time the Parsi public in Bombay was given the vote. Even though they could vote for the governments of the city, state and country, they were not considered mature and wise enough to elect BPP trustees! This despite nearly all Zoroastrian anjumans, punchayets and associations, nationally and globally, electing their leaders through adult franchise.
The forthcoming October 18 elections should allay the misgivings of the critics of a truly democratic system. The campaign should be more orderly, with candidates expected to observe the voluntary code of conduct. Many contestants will make use of the social media. Several who fought shy of Facebook and Twitter are now on these platforms. When Parsiana asked one younger aspirant how she was getting her message across to voters, the reply was "through the social media."
But social media is no substitute for meeting the candidates in flesh and blood and observing how they address the crowd, answer questions — sometimes planted by their own supporters or their opponents — and handle hecklers. But the level of rancor is less than during the last three polls. There may not be dinner packets handed out but voters hopefully will be fed with much food for thought.